Pittsburgh ice cream perfection

So although I've yet to find a great granita in Pittsburgh, I know where to get amazing ice cream; and it's not in the freezer section at Giant Eagle.

We could belabor the history of ice cream, but we'll skip it because it's rather long.  Ice cream and it's cousins have been a special treat since the time of the Persians in 400BC, so you get the idea.  Instead, we'll skip straight to present to talk about how ice cream is made now.  

Most true ice cream recipes for home production are a variation of a frozen custard.  Custard is made by bringing eggs, milk/cream, sugar and flavor to almost a boil and allowing it to thicken.  Once the custard cools, you add in more cream and then transfer it to an ice cream maker and let it do it's magic.  See an example recipe here for the most basic of flavors, vanilla.

Large scale production of ice cream is not truly all that different- the equipment is just bigger and fancier.  Ben & Jerry's actually produced a video showing how ice cream is made in their factory, and you'll notice, it's really not too different from what you do at home. Check it out here.  We pasteurize when we heat the custard and we homogenize when we mix in the cream.  We just call it heating and mixing.

Speaking of Ben & Jerry's...did you know they learned how to make ice cream at the Penn State Creamery? And that the Penn State Creamery is where most people go to learn how to make large scale production ice cream? 

Now we get to the best part of all the ice cream talk.  Not the part where we chat about the history of ice cream, or how to make it at home or how Ben and Jerry's makes theirs.  We get to the part about eating ice cream.

Hands down, Dave and Andy's in Oakland continues to have the best ice cream in Pittsburgh.  They have a 91% satisfaction rating on Urban Spoon with 291 votes.  That's saying something.  They also have countless great reviews from newspapers, magazine and most importantly customers.  They mix up fresh flavors all the time and even offer frozen yogurt to the slightly more health conscious folks.   Notice the lack of a link to their website?  They don't have one.  Their following is just strong enough that there is no need.  People stop by regardless.   Plus, the waffle cones are fresh and the little M&M sitting at the bottom just make their ice cream experience memorable and nostalgic every time. 

Another great place to visit is Mercurio's Mulberry Creamery in Shadyside, just above Girasole.  Now, due to USDA regulations, which require anything above 10% butterfat to be called ice cream, and anything below it a "frozen dessert", Mercurio's actually calls their ice cream gelato, which only has 7% butterfat.  Anyway you look at it, ice cream, gelato, frozen dessert, it's just plain delicious.  This year, they were chosen as the best place to get a gelato by Pittsburgh Magazine.  They also have a 94% satisfaction rating on Urban Spoon (though a far smaller amount of votes). 

Two other places to check out for great Pittsburgh ice cream:  Oh Yeah! Ice Cream and the Milkshake Factory.  Oh Yeah! offers a lot of cool flavors, mix ins, fresh made waffle cones and is special dietary needs friendly, catering to the lactose intolerant, vegan, etc.  Their soy ice cream is actually really delicious, which is great to know when you love ice cream but can't eat it due to lactose intolerance and can't stomach the soy stuff from the grocery store. 

The Milkshake factory also does a great job with have fun, custom flavors each day.  Plus, each week they have a milkshake happy hour from 4-6.  Who could resist? 

As a Pittsburgher and ice cream fan, I feel quite lucky to be surrounded with such great, local ice cream.  Don't you?

Dave and Andy’s Strawberry Cookies and Cream Frozen Yogurt on the Sugar Love Scale

Taste ♥♥♥♥♥
Texture ♥♥♥♥♥
Appearance ♥♥♥♥♥
Overall ♥♥♥♥♥